Man was wanted by cops. That didn’t stop him from commenting on their Facebook page

It’s common for the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office to make posts on its Facebook page asking for help in finding people accused of committing crimes.

It’s unusual for one of those suspects to comment on the post — especially while still wanted on a criminal charge.

But that’s exactly what happened when Chase Braeden Ward recently responded to the sheriff’s office’s social media post.

Ward, who was wanted on a second-degree domestic violence charge, commented on his post to profess that he was not guilty.

In the original post from the sheriff’s office, shared on March 21, the law enforcement agency said the 30-year-old was accused of hitting a pregnant woman in the head, pulling her hair and throwing her to the ground. Additionally, he damaged her cellphone when she tried to call law enforcement following the March 2 incident, according to the post.

Less than an hour after the sheriff’s department post, Ward responded on the social media outlet.

Ward shared a screenshot of a text conversation in which a woman said Ward did not hit her. “Might wanna read this I don’t hit women shows here,” Ward said in his post.

On Saturday, the sheriff’s office updated its original post and created a new one, both with the same information — saying Ward was now “in custody.”

There was no word about when and where Ward was taken into custody, or if any bond was set.

The screenshot he shared was meant to exonerate Ward, but the person involved in that conversation added comments to the sheriff’s office post, saying that conversation was taken from a separate incident in November 2023. Additionally, that person pointed out that there was neither a date nor timestamp included with the screenshot Ward shared.

While Sumter County court records don’t show that Ward was charged with domestic violence last November, they do show he was on July 14, 2023, when he was arrested on a second-degree domestic violence charge. Ward posted a $5,000 personal recognizance bond on July 15, 2023, and that charge is still pending, according to court records.

Ward did appear in court in November 2023, but that was on a hunting, fishing or trapping on lands of another without consent (second offense) charge from a September 2023 arrest, court records show.

Ward had previously been arrested at least half a dozen times on similarly related wildlife charges, according to court records.

This story was originally published March 25, 2024 at 1:29 PM.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription